Defining Moments in a Not Quite Relationship
by Krys33
Summary: Five small moments in the tumultuous friendship of Cooper Freedman and Violet Turner.


**A/N:** This was my second go at this meme:  
_Put your iTunes on shuffle, and write a drabble based on each of the first five songs that play. Don't linger when the song is over, this is an exercise._  
It was a great way to jump start my muse into gear! I hope you enjoy.  
**Disclaimer: **I'm not Shonda and I don't own Private Practice. (Not that I don't wish that I did!)

**Defining Moments in a Not-Quite-Relationship  
--**

**Say It To Me Now – Glen Hansard**_  
I'm scratching at the surface now/And I'm trying hard to work it out  
So much has gone misunderstood/This mystery only leads to doubt  
And I didn't understand/When you reached out to take my hand  
And if you have something to say/You'd better say it now_

He's so _fucking_ tired of waiting for her. It's been so many years, long, long years. He's been there for her over and over and over again, always hoping that this time, no _this _time, she'll see _me_. But she never does. It's always _oh, Cooper, you're such a great friend_, and he's sick of it.

So one day, after all the waiting and wishing and wondering, he grabs her by the wrist. And when she turns to him, that quizzical look in her eye, everything he'd planned to say flies out of his head and instead he just pulls her into him and kisses her with everything he's been holding back for all this time. And when he pulls away, he just looks at her, and waits.

It's her turn.

**Mr. Brightside – The Killers**_  
It started out with a kiss/How did it end up like this?  
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss  
Now I'm falling asleep/And she's calling a cab  
While he's having a smoke/And she's taking a drag  
Now they're going to bed/And my stomach is sick  
And it's all in my head_

How did he let it get this far? He was supposed to _stop_ her. At some point, say_ It's _Allan_, Vi. You don't want this._ But he never did. She looked so happy that he kept fooling himself, thinking he'd tell her when things started to go bad. Thinking that he'd be there to catch her just as she started to fall.

But the fall never came. All of a sudden she was bounding into his office, a new, shiny ring glinting on her left hand, saying _Can you believe it, Cooper? _And he couldn't believe, not at all, and _oh my god, is it getting hot in here? _

He waited for her to leave before he threw up in the trash can.

**Iris – Goo Goo Dolls**_  
And all I can taste is this moment/And all I can breathe is your life  
Cause sooner or later it's over/I just don't want to miss you tonight  
And I don't want the world to see me/Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken/I just want you to know who I am_

She's exhausted.

Piling it all inside has absolutely destroyed her and she just doesn't have the _strength_ to carry on any more. She stays in bed for a week until Cooper finally shows up at her bedroom door, and she doesn't bother to ask how he got inside because she doesn't have the energy to _care_. And when he lies down beside her on the bed, pulling her into some kind of pseudo-hug, she starts to cry, pressing her face into the cotton of his shirt.

They don't talk at all that night, but it doesn't matter. All the pressure inside her is gone.

And it's a fantastic feeling.

**To Make Her Love Me – Rascal Flatts**_  
I've said some things I shouldn't have/Tried everything to win her back  
I'm human, I messed up/Is she gone? Are we done?_

He is the biggest idiot on the face of planet earth.

He should've _known_. He's been her friend for so many years. He should be able to read the signs. She wasn't _ready_, and he scared her. It was too damn soon, and he couldn't make himself wait just a little bit longer.

Cooper sits at the bar, his face in his hands, pondering at what point in his life, exactly, all his brain cells went missing.

**Pretty the World – Matt Nathanson**  
_Well just take me home/'Cause I'm a mess enough clean  
And I'll lie/Until I believe  
Show me how pretty the world is/'Cause I envy the way that you move  
Show me how pretty the world is/'Cause I want something a little bit louder_

He cannot understand how she does it. The world knocks her down again and again and _again_, and she still smiles. She still lets herself love, be loved, and just _be_.

He doesn't _get_ it. He was knocked down _once_, and he stayed on the mat. He shied away from relationships entirely, avoided almost any attachment to anyone, and buried himself in sex with internet hookers and Monday night football. But Violet, she let Allan alone break her heart not once, not twice, but _three _times.

Her intense _faith_ in people mesmerizes him, so much so that because of her, because of what she's shown him, he just might be willing to give this relationship thing one more try.

**--  
End****  
**


End file.
